The Snite Museum of Art - Snite Museum of Art - University of Notre ...

20
rEcEnt acquIsItIons
A Gift of Friendship, A Gift of Art, continued
An intriguing wooden sculpture is the Kakongo duality
mask–possibly contrasting illness/health or life/death.
Masks of this form are rare, but its patina of wear and
adherence to stylistic conventions confirm its authenticity.
This expression of duality may indeed be unique.
Another rarity is a Duala model of a canoe, complete
with crew and their paddles, commissioned by German
traders who controlled the shipment of coffee and
chocolate beans by canoe from their inland plantations
down the Wuri River in Cameroon to the coast. They
organized races among the local Duala boat owners
and crews, and models such as this made by the Duala
were often given to visiting dignitaries. It offers an
intriguing window on the colonial African world.
This is the first in a long series of donations that will
include hundreds of works of art that will bring great
quality and diversity to the museum’s collection. The
Museum’s debt to Mr. Owen D. Mort, Jr. is great, and
so is its thanks to him for such a tremendous gift.
opposite page: Youth/age (?) duality mask, 1875-1925
Kakongo group, Democratic Republic of Congo or Angola
pyro-colored and painted wood, 11.25 x 8 x 6 inches
Gift of Mr. O.D. Mort, Jr.
2010.031.047
above and below: Regatta canoe model, 1875-1918
Duala group, Cameroon
polychromed wood, 14.25 x 47.625 x 7.625 inches
Gift of Mr. O.D. Mort, Jr.
2010.031.045